Scott McCaughey, of the Minus 5, Young Fresh Fellows and R.E.M., hospitalized after stroke
Kevin Bronson on
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Guitarist-songwriter-producer Scott McCaughey, frontman of the Minus 5 and the Young Fresh Fellows and a key player in a bands such as R.E.M., the Baseball Project, Tired Pony and, most recently, Filthy Friends, suffered a stroke Thursday while on tour with Alejandro Escovedo.
The beloved McCaughey, 63, known for his easygoing demeanor and affection for sunglasses, is hospitalized in stable condition in San Francisco. The remainder of Escovedo’s tour has been postponed (including a show scheduled tonight at the Bootleg Theater), with Escovedo writing on his website: “We were forced to postpone the remainder of our West Coast tour but will return as soon as Scott is able. I’ve met a lot of people in this business (over 40 years) and Scott is truly one of the finest. Please send all of your positive energy towards Scott and his family. He will return as he always has … a champion!”
“The road to recovery will be a long one, and we believe it will come through music,” Mary Winzig, McCaughey’s wife, wrote in a Facebook post on Friday. “We can’t wait to see him back in action. The collective energy of the entire creative community is powerful enough to overcome this hurdle. With the love and support of all of you, Scott will continue to share his love of music with the world.”
This morning, she provided an update, thanking the music community and friends for their outpouring of support. “Scott is in a great medical facility and we trust the doctors and hard-working staff implicitly. We have such a long road ahead, but with your love and Scott’s amazing drive and work ethic, we will get there. … In this struggle, we are truly learning the definition of ‘it is not a sprint, it is a marathon.’”
Musician/journalist Sean Nelson called McCaughey “a precious natural musical and human resource” in a backgrounder published on Seattle publication The Stranger’s blog.
I was at the show Tuesday night in Novato, spent a lot of time chatting with Scott and have to say he looked as happy and healthy as I’ve ever seen him. Also the band kicked ass. He is a stupendously nice guy and a lot of his friends are suggesting that nice thing to do for him would be to buy a digital download of the epic Minus 5 box set available here: https://theminus5.bandcamp.com/album/scott-the-hoople-in-the-dungeon-of-horror
[…] Less than two years later after his stroke, Scott McCaughey made believers of everyone on Friday night at the Bootleg Theater. The 65-year-old fronted a Minus 5 touring lineup of Buck on guitar and Mike Mills (R.E.M.) on bass and his Young Fresh Fellows bandmates Kurt Bloch (Fastbacks) on guitar/backing vocals and Linda Pitmon (The Baseball Project, Steve Wynn) on drums/backing vocals. Robert Lloyd (The Nightingales) floated in and out on keyboards. […]